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Candidate Requirements

Elections & Nominations:

The Town of Minturn conducts regular biennial elections on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in April of even numbered years to elect Town Council members and a Mayor. Mayor and Councilors are elected on an at-large basis; that is, elected by all registered electors of the Town rather than by specific district or ward within the Town. Terms of office are staggered so three Council/Mayor members are elected at one election, three at the next succeeding election. The Mayor is elected to a two year term and Councilors are elected to four (4)-year terms. Minturn does not have term limits.

As stated in the Home Rule Charter (copies available in the Town Clerk's office), a candidate for the Minturn Town Council must be:

No person shall be eligible to be elected or appointed to the office of Mayor or council member unless he has been a citizen of the United States for not less than seven (7) years, is at least twenty-five (25) years of age and shall have been a resident of the Town of Minturn not less than two (2) years immediately preceding such election or appointment or in the case of Mayor, five (5) years immediately preceding such election or appointment. Each elected official shall maintain his residency in the Town throughout his term of office. A person who has been convicted of a felony shall not be eligible to become a candidate for a Town office.

Candidates for Town Council are nominated, without regard to political party affiliation, by petition on forms supplied by the Town Clerk. Petitions are not issued prior to the ninety-one (91) day before the election and not later than seventy-one (71) days before the regular Town election. One (1) to three (3) registered electors of the Town can be designated on the petition as a committee to fill a vacancy in nomination. Such designation is optional.

Nomination petitions can be circulated only between the Ninety-second (92) day and the seventy-first (71) day before the election and must be returned to the Town Clerk by 5 p.m. on the thirtieth day before the election. Petitions must be signed in ink by at least ten (10) registered electors who live in the Town of Minturn. Each registered elector signing a petition must add to his signature his place of residence, the date on which he signed the petition, and must print his name in the space provided.

Only one (1) person can circulate a nomination petition. The circulator of a petition affirms (by completing the affidavit contained on the petition) that each signature thereon is the signature of the person whose name it purports to be and that each signer has stated to the circulator that he is a registered elector of Minturn. The circulator's affidavit must be notarized; THE CIRCULATOR DOES NOT SIGN AND COMPLETE THE AFFIDAVIT EXCEPT IN THE PRESENCE OF A NOTARY PUBLIC.

A petition is valid only if it contains at least ten (10) valid signatures of registered Town electors. A registered Town elector can sign only the number of nomination petitions equal to the number of Council positions to be filled at the election. For example, no matter how many people are seeking candidacy, if there were 3 Council positions to be filled at the election, a registered Town elector could sign only 3 nomination petitions.

Each nomination petition must be filed with the Town Clerk no later than the thirtieth day prior to the election, as previously mentioned. Every such petition must have endorsed thereon the notarized Candidate Oath and Acceptance of Nomination, which is printed on the back of the nomination petition. AGAIN, EXECUTION OF THIS SWORN STATEMENT MUST BE DONE IN THE PRESENCE OF A NOTARY PUBLIC. The statement must reflect the address of the candidate's place of residence and the name of the candidate in the form it is to appear on the ballot. On the ballot the candidate's name can be a nickname or include a nickname, but it cannot contain any title or degree designating the business or profession of the candidate. Placement of candidates' names on the ballot will be determined by drawing of lots. Candidates and/or their designees are encouraged to attend and witness the drawing.

All nomination petitions that are in apparent conformity with requirements of the Colorado Municipal Election Code, as determined by the Town Clerk, are valid unless objection thereto is made in writing within three (3) days after the filing of same. If objection is made, notice will be mailed immediately to the candidate who may be affected by the objection. The Clerk will rule on any objections within at least forty-eight (48) hours after objections are filed. Remedies or cures of objections that are upheld will be accomplished through an amendment to the original petition, or by filing a new petition within three (3) days after such objection is sustained, but in no event later than the eighteenth day before the election.

Withdrawal of Candidacy:

Any person, who has been nominated and has accepted that nomination in the manner described can cause his/her name to be withdrawn from such nomination at any time prior to the twenty third day before the election by submitting to the Town Clerk a written, signed affidavit withdrawing from such nomination. Forms for this purpose are available in the Town Clerk's office. Detailed information regarding this procedure can be secured from the Town Clerk if needed.

Fair Campaign Practices Act:

All candidates and organized committees supporting a candidate for Town Council are subject to requirements of the Fair Campaign Practices Act (FCPA). Colorado electors approved this law in November 1996. A copy of the law together with copies of report forms to be used in meeting the requirements of the FCPA can be obtained at the Clerk's office.

Candidates for Town Council are required to file a Candidate Affidavit within ten (10) days of becoming a candidate. The FCPA definition of candidate is contained in Section 1-45-103 (1.5). FCPA reports from each candidate or committee must be filed 21 days before the election; the Friday before the election, and thirty days after the election. Candidate committees supporting your candidacy also are obligated to comply with the FCPA.

A copy of the FCPA and all reporting forms can be obtained on the Colorado Secretary of State website. All reports required under the FCPA are filed with the Town Clerk.